Hey Goober Wrote:
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> hybrid Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Towns provide a few more local services like
> > police, refuse removal, etc., but usually don't
> > have the tax base to support a school system.
> You
> > pay a county tax plus a town tax. Basically,
> it
> > is a wannabe city.
>
> If any Town had wanted to be a City, it would have
> sought to incorporate as one. Towns are Towns
> because they chose to be. Under state law and
> without any regard at all to supposed sufficiency
> of tax base, Towns are not permitted to operate
> school systems. Cities are required to.
>
> And since so many of you are in fact goobers, I'll
> add that yes, Fairfax City does in fact operate
> its own schools system in full compliance with
> applicable state law. They have however
> contracted with FCPS to staff and run those city
> schools for them. It's a legal thing -- goobers
> wouldn't be expected to understand.
>
> Meanwhile, the major advantage of being a Town is
> that additional layer of local government that
> exists below county-level. You and your neighbors
> get to decide zoning, traffic, recreation, and a
> host of other matters right in your own back
> yards. Vienna has a population of about 16,000.
> Fairfax County has a population of about
> 1,116,000. Which level do you think would be
> easier for a citizen to navigate and receive an
> actual response from?
It's likely that even if Vienna wanted to incorporate as a city, they couldn't. Virginia state law § 15.2-3800 says that a county can be granted immunity from having a city incorporated in its borders if it meets certain conditions, which are laid out in § 15.2-3300 et seq., and Fairfax County meets those conditions.
That being said, the only good reason I can think of for Vienna to incorporate as a city would be to annex Tysons Corner and all the valuable, deliciously taxable property there, but there's been a moratorium on city-county annexations for going on 30 years now which is unlikely to end anytime in the foreseeable future. (See "Virginia's Never-ending Moratorium on City-County Annexations" at
http://www.coopercenter.org/publications/VANsltr0112 for a fuller discussion.)
The last city created in Fairfax County was the City of Fairfax in 1961, and it's likely to remain that way.